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Apparently AirPods use magnets in the Smart Case to tell when they're inside.

I wonder how long before somebody finds out where the sensors are and just carries around a magnet to pop on whenever they want to take the AirPods off.
Backside, inner bottom corner of the metal ‘pod’. Apply two magnets to each side, and they go into deep sleep.
Many cases will be made.
 
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Let's see your A/B test results proving you can hear the difference. Otherwise you're not getting any benefit.
It's easy enough to hear the difference if you're paying attention and have the right music. For example, you can hear awful artifacting on Linda Ronstadt's voice on Blue Bayou (live in hollywood) - it just rips up the edge of her voice...and that's with iTunes AAC+ (through match). Obviously that doesn't happen on lossless.

Lossy stuff has a fuzzy/distorted edge on the high end; think of the difference between a straight edge and a hacksaw. Most of the time it's not noticeable, and you hear it only if you pay attention. Occasionally it's brutal (like Linda's track above).

And that's with hearing loss (I can't hear anything over 11-12k). For kids, they must think that music naturally comes with that fuzzy edge, ugh. I know my kids don't have any high-quality audio sources.
 
Still not sure why they did not include a power button for those of us who dont want to use this case?
 
It’s not a case. It’s a sleeve. For $550 they should have included a nice hard case that had an internal sleeve or the like.
 
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Not really, I heard that the battery drain is really minimal.
True. It's not really drained much outside that hideous thing called a case. Also, I think they can implement 'deep sleep' with a software update with a long press and hold on the secondary button used for transparency/noise cancelling.

I don't think the mesh is as easy to rip as people fear. It's like a strong material, similar to what you have in the mesh chairs. Nonetheless, I doubt most users will prioritise 'efficiency' as they have. I certainly don't. I'd want 'peace of mind' knowing that my headphones won't get damaged in a bag.

One thing I'm surprised people haven't commented much on are is the roughness of the material used for the ear cups. It's like sandpaper to my ears, and I've not found any position where it doesn't feel like my ears are being sandpapered whenever I move my ears.

I really love the sound quality of these headphones. Compared to my Sony XM3s, the sound is phenomenal. Excellent separation. Far more balanced sound and far more detail even on lower bitrate content. Something else I'd hope for is Apple upgrading its content to higher definition sound. It almost feels like these headphones are wasted on Apple Music.
 
One reason I like my Bose storage case is the pocket it has for storing adapters. I may only use the airplane adapter once every few months, but at least I know it's there and I don't have to remember to pack it separately.
 
Still not sure why they did not include a power button for those of us who dont want to use this case?
Because a power button isn’t all that necessary?

In any event, I predict a firmware update that repurposes press-and-hold on one of the buttons to make the headphone go into full sleep.
 
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About the case: a normal case for these would really fill up a backpack as they’re big.

I believe this was the reasoning behind the odd choice and I, for one, agree. I don’t keep keys or coins in the backpack, but space is a scarce resource.

Edit: also, a normal case does not come with a handle.
“Normal cases” don’t come with a handle for a reason: that’s stupid and why would you want to carry the things around like a purse?
Your statement that “they’re big” is also nonsense, as I was carrying around a pair of early gen Bose QC’s 20 years ago and they weren’t any bigger than this. The EarPods turned sideways so the whole thing could fit flat into a hard case, which fit just fine in my carryon. Indeed the overall footprint would hardly be increased by enclosing the whole set into a hard case instead of leaving the headband exposed.
It’s just an all around stupid design, one Apple clearly didn’t bother to run past a focus group of actual users before giving the green light to. Of all the reviews I’ve read, every single one dinged the case, some more harshly than others, but not one reviewer liked it.
 
If i jab it with a hot metal poker, it will tear. If I toss it in my bag, in which I do not keep any samurai swords, hungry piranhas, lawnmower blades, lawn darts, minecraft creepers, angry pitbulls, or jackhammers, I believe it will be fine.
You don’t keep hungry piranhas in your bag? Everyone’s doing it these days.

Joking aside, I don’t like the case. Which is more akin to just a cover... a cover for the ear cups. I think the issue for me is (disclaimer: I don’t own AirPods Max), what is made up for in width is lost in length since the ear cups don’t fold up into the head band. So the notion that it saves on space is a bit nonsensical in my opinion. I think a lot people, myself included, expected the ear cups to fold up and for there to be a half moon shaped premium leather case instead of this... cover cloth thing.
 
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The design is really out of touch with reality. Consumers want to put their headphones in a case and toss them in a bag without worry. People want durable tools, not a design showcase.
 
The design does look interesting. It's almost retro. The case is the drawback, to me (aside from price) to buy them.

When I would start traveling with them, I'd be looking for a good case for them to protect them when not being used.

Anyone know of any options? Anything that would work, and not be too cumbersome?
 
The digital crown is a much better solution. I have SONY headphones and the touch operation is so imprecise and poorly done that I had to turn it off.
And the Sonys are practically useless in colder climates, and that's why I never bothered with them. Sub-zero degrees C and they start acting on their own. Maybe they've fixed it on the latest iteration, I haven't checked.
 
Spatial audio is different than surround sound, of course. Not sure whether it supports any kind of surround other than spatial audio.
Spatial Audio is 2 things, dynamic head tracking and surround sound. Apple describes it as "dynamic head tracking bringing theater-like sound that surrounds you from the movie or video you're watching."

Spatial Audio supports Dolby Digital (AC-3), Dolby Digital Plus (EAC-3), and Dolby Atmos (MAT).
 
Maybe Johny Ives was a better designer than some people gave him credit for.😏
He was the bloke who designed the iMac G4 (the lampshade iMac), right? IMO, that was the best looking iMac of all time. Esthetically and ergonomically, it beats the pants off any computer past or present. Apple had great designs until they started the thinner ad absurdum trend.😓😓😓

Well, I have no reason to complain about the Apple headphones as I ain't buying one. I'm a simple guy. Deep sleep? Gimme an on/off switch. Sure it ain't gonna be as purdy, but it will be peace of mind functional. When it turn it off, I know it will be off. I don't want to worry if the magnets align properly with the sensors to trigger deep sleep state.

I agree that case design...🤮🤮🤮
 
They chose this design because the others were too expensive. The folding version would have been $999
A good case for these would have been too. It would have been machined aluminum with a cashmere lining, titanium hinges, and a lock that was released from an app on your iPhone. Charging power supply sold separately.
 
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I wouldn't be worried about breaking my expensive headphones if I was an Apple exec worth $100M. Back in the real world though, this what a case looks like: (a €619 pair of headphones deserve a decent protective case)

Screenshot 2020-12-17 at 17.52.13.png

Screenshot 2020-12-17 at 18.00.52.png
 
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